Constructing the studio required hoisting eleven 133-ft-long, 90-ton clear-span steel trusses over an adjacent piano factory. Because the crane for this task exceeded the creekside site’s load-bearing capacity, the project team designed a temporary haul road of 24-in. compacted stone topped with twin layers of timber cribbing. Groundwater monitoring wells verified that the subgrade stayed dry, maintaining safe reactions under the crane’s working tracks. Because every new truss stabilized the one before it, the structure gained rigidity with each lift. Teamwork was also essential in planning the overnight delivery of each truss, with the route from New Jersey to the site carefully selected and timed to limit the risk of traffic disruptions.

Photo courtesy Wildflower

Inside the studios, the trusses deliver unobstructed shooting volumes and integrated catwalks for lighting and rigging, while logistical improvements include an 80-ft-dia truck turntable for expediting deliveries and more than 30 elevators, six of which are capable of moving 20,000 lb. Wardrobe and mill spaces, dressing rooms and a carpentry studio are located between the studio levels, while the uppermost floors house post-production suites, offices, lounges, a fitness center and two landscaped roof terraces that double as exterior sets, with enough space left over for a rooftop solar array.

Completed on time and at budget, the studio doubles as a civic asset. A waterfront site once fenced off from the public now features a 20-ft-wide public esplanade and a 35,000-sq-ft park.

The project had a 0.36 OSHA recordable incident rate and 0.17 lost-time accident rate during more than 2.2 million worker hours.